He Never Really Forgot Her
by TercesTardis
Summary: Everyone - including her - thinks that the Doctor had forgotten the faithful companion. Well, the Doctor never forgets a face. And no, I'm not talking about Clara Oswald.


**So I've had this idea for a long time, because it bothers me that the Doctor forgot Lorna. He remembers everyone. He remembered Elton Pope as a kid, even. So I was thinking about this, but I couldn't write it. And finally, I did! I really hope you guys enjoy it. Set before 'Cold War', after 'Rings of Akhaten', but Clara did go on several trips in between, so...**  
The Doctor ran around the console, Clara Oswald following him. "Where are we going?"

The Time Lord glanced up at her. "The Moon!"

Clara looked at him suspiciously. "Why?"

The Doctor flipped switches. "Why not?"

The TARDIS whirred, and as the two time travellers laughed with excitement, their ship landed roughly.

The Doctor pushed the doors opened, and expecting, grey ground, he found himself surrounded with green foliage. "The Moon?" he said unconvincingly.

Clara stepped out tenatively in a space suit. "Looks a bit green. Are you sure we're on the moon?"

The Doctor glanced at her. "I think you can take off that suit now. Who told you to wear that thing?"

Clara protested, "You did!"

"No, I didn't, it's not cool at all. I'm cool, that's not cool. Go find something cool, Clara Oswald. Now!" he ordered sternly.

Clara snorted but went inside to change. The Doctor, meanwhile, looked around cautiously.

"OK, Planet of the Forest People, famous for tormenting me with the phrase 'The only water in the forest is the river'. What do you have in store for me now?" The Doctor yelled at the human inside the box, "Clara, I'm just going to look around! Be back soon!" He waited for about 5 seconds for a response, then: "Ah, I'm sure she heard me." With that, the Time Lord embarked in his expedition.

He had walked for a while until he came to a group of children playing cheerfully with one another. One of the children caught his eye.

She looked awfully familiar, with blonde hair tied in a ponytail. Her eyes were shining, and her mouth seemed permanently set in a smile.

"Lorna!" one of the children shouted to the girl. "Come on!" The blonde trotted over.

"Lorna," the Doctor realized. "Lorna Bucket. This is the day she meets me. Oh, I _knew_ I never forget a face."

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a loud roar. All the children screamed and scattered to their parents, but he couldn't find Lorna. Then he saw the blonde child emerge from a cluster of flowers, holding a pretty daisy. She looked up at the monster and let out a terrified scream.

The Doctor couldn't stop. "RUN!" he yelled. He grabbed little Lorna's hand. "Run!"

He and Lorna ran. They ran through the trees, past the rivers, across the forest.

"My lily!" Lorna cried. The monster's steps had shaken the ground, causing Lorna to let go of the clean white flower.

"Run!" The Doctor repeated. The monster, which he guessed was a Trebithian Angler, roared, and bashed trees and spoiled grass. Frightened birds squawked in protest as they flew away from the commotion.

"It's destroying the forest!" Lorna fretted. She whipped around and shouted angrily, "You're destroying my home!"

The Angler emitted a blinding light, and Lorna cried out in pain as she collapsed. The Angler's light had nearly fried her cerebral cortex.

"Oh, no. Lorna." The Doctor tenderly picked her up. He stroked her soft golden hair. "You're going to be alright."

To the Angler, he said darkly, "You hurt someone I liked. Who is a child. And who gave - or will give - their life for me. Now _that_ makes me angry."

He pointed his sonic screwdriver at the monster, and it growled as the light dimmed.

"Oh, yes," the Doctor smiled. "Messing with the electrical pulses does have that effect, doesn't it?"

The beast roared again, and the light was brighter than ever.

The Doctor fidgeted sheepishly. "Right. I forgot that you can use bioliuminescence too." He noticed Lorna waking up, so he set her on the ground, and surprisingly, she stood up. Shakily, she glanced at the Doctor.

"Run!" The Doctor yelled, painfully aware that that was the only thing that she heard from him.

Suddenly, there was a fiery white blast. It burnt a tree. Lorna and the Doctor turned around, and saw that the _Trebithian Angler_ was the one firing those blasts.

"RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN!" The Doctor shouted hurriedly. They breathlessly ran up the tall hill where he saw Forest People, and the Doctor pushed Lorna on it. Then he faced the Trebithian Angler and started defeating it.

After 2 hours of long battling, with a plan concerning a rip in time and space, angry Romans, even angrier Trebithians, and the angriest he'd ever seen Jack the Ripper, the Doctor trudged back up the hill, with a burnt tweed jacket, sore eyes, and no bowtie.

"We express the foremost gratitude, Doctor," the chieftain said. "What would've happened if - "

The Doctor cut him off, waving his hand. "All in a day's work. What I really want to know is where are the children?"

"Playing, as usual," the chieftain chuckled.

"Do you know, by any chance, a young child named Lorna Bucket?" The Doctor questioned hopefully.

The chieftain nodded. "Certainly. She is my daughter, and that girl you saved just now!"

"Well," the Doctor smiled affectionately, "she's amazing and very brave. You should know."

"But not her?" the chieftain inquired with a raised eyebrow. The Doctor pretended not to hear and turned away, his green eyes blazing with grief.

As soon as he got to the TARDIS, the TARDIS doors opened and his female companion stepped out.

"Sorry it took a long time," she rushed. "I couldn't find the wardrobe, then I couldn't pick the clothes, then I couldn't find the console, then - " Clara paused as she noticed the Doctor's raggedy appearance. She looked around and saw burnt meadows, bare ground, and broken trunks.

"Did I miss anything?"

Meanwhile, Lorna and her friends were gathered together, although they were not, as the chieftain said, playing. Instead, the little ones were huddled together, their eyes filled with admiration.

"You met _the_ Doctor?" asked one eagerly. "What was he like?"

Another interrupted, "What did he say?"

Lorna leaned forward, her mouth set into its seemingly permanent smile. "He said..." the whole group held their breath.

"Run."


End file.
